This case is similar to the famous fresco of the Ecce Homo in a town in Zaragoza but with a Canarian twist, and notably, in this island’s case, it wasn’t a parishioner, but the parish priest himself who damaged the artwork.
The residents of the municipality of El Tanque (2,600 inhabitants), in the north of Tenerife, have risen up against the parish priest of the San Antonio de Padua church, Héctor Lunar Guevara, for causing damage to protected frescoes located in the church’s sanctuary, declared a Cultural Heritage site in 2011.
The events took place four days ago. This was reported by the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Good Voyage of El Tanque in a statement shared on social media: “The straw that broke the camel’s back. Today (last Friday, March 8th) a crime has been committed against the historical heritage of our municipality. The parish priest Héctor Luna Guevara, according to his own rules, decided to scrape and paint the sides of the sanctuary of the main parish of San Antonio de Padua, which were protected with special paint and awaiting restoration.”
The Brotherhood’s statement adds: “He did this without knowledge of the artistic wealth behind the white paint, without the mandatory consent from Heritage authorities, and the Town Hall was also unaware of these actions.”
This Brotherhood, the Neighbourhood Association Our Lady of Good Voyage and other social groups in El Tanque have requested the Diocese of Tenerife to remove the priest from this parish, and have reported the incident to the Town Hall for appropriate action to be taken.
Unlike the incident 12 years ago involving the lady from Borja, Cecilia Giménez, who attempted to restore the Ecce Homo fresco and ended up destroying it, in this Tenerife case, the priest instructed a non-specialized company to remove a protective layer of plastic paint from the San Antonio de Padua frescoes, precisely placed to protect the paintings.
Church of San Antonio de Padua, in the municipality of El Tanque, in the north of Tenerife. / El Día
Not only did he order the removal of this protective layer, which was meant to remain until the frescoes were restored, but he also instructed the workers to< strong>apply a layer of conventional white paint over it.
The Mayor of El Tanque, Esther Morales, confirms that this new layer of conventional paint has caused damage to the frescoes, the severity of which will now be assessed. This Monday, the Mayor is visited by heritage specialists from the Tenerife Island Council and the Government of the Canary Islands to determine whether the frescoes can be salvaged or are lost forever.
Government experts visit El Tanque to assess the damages suffered by the frescoes
“The priest did not inform about these works. This parish is private property, but the Council decided to protect it by declaring it a Cultural Heritage site due to its high cultural and historical value. The XVIII century frescoes also hold tremendous value.” This is detailed by Esther Morales, who points out that while one of the frescoes had been restored in previous works at this parish, others in the sanctuary, where the main altar stands, had not been.
The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Good Voyage asserts that the priest “did not bother to properly protect the wooden floor, or the images, some of which are older than the parish itself, dating back to the XVIII century.”
The priest did not inform about these works that affected the XVIII century frescoes
This behaviour exhibited by the priest demonstrates, according to the Brotherhood and the Neighbourhood Association, “his lack of respect and complete ignorance towards our history, culture, and heritage, done without any scruples.”
The indignation of the residents of El Tanque towards this priest dates back a while, before he ordered these botched works without considering the potential damage. This is highlighted by the Brotherhood. “We have been enduring disrespect from this individual for almost two years, not only towards the members of this Brotherhood but also to other faithful worshippers, towards our traditions, our culture… We, as a Brotherhood and as members of the parish group, have spent our entire lives caring for and preserving the
“We have been taking care of the church, preparing it for every liturgical act, making sure it is clean because, after all, it is our home. We have realized that this man wants to keep us away from the parish. We do not deserve this treatment.”
The residents of El Tanque are outraged with the priest: they accuse him of disrespect.
“We have never wanted to speak publicly because we hoped that the bishop would listen to the requests we have sent him by letter or through other people, but it is time for everyone to know who Don Héctor really is,” explains the statement circulated on social media, which concludes: “Since he arrived in El Tanque, he has done nothing but what he pleases. He acts as he wants and defends himself by saying because I am the parish priest. A person who should set an example of faith, respect for others, humility… is the complete opposite. We are tired.”
The Bishopric of Tenerife is well aware of the residents’ outrage in El Tanque. They have also sent experts to determine the damages suffered by the frescoes. The Our Lady of Buen Viaje Neighbourhood Association hopes that this priest will be removed and take responsibility for the damages.
The testing that will be carried out on the frescoes by technicians will determine if these paintings with three centuries of unprotected history can be saved, covered at the whim of the priest with conventional white paint.
The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Buen Viaje explains on another link on its Facebook page the importance of the San Antonio de Padua parish, located in the historic centre of El Tanque. They highlight the following: “Before the volcanic eruption of Trevejo in 1706, the area that we now know as the historic centre had a small hermitage dedicated to San Antonio de Padua (16th century). This hermitage was destroyed by the volcano, so the few residents who had settled in the area built the current parish with their own hands and the few resources they had, which was opened for worship in 1729 (18th century).”
“Between 1999 and 2007, the restoration of the parish was carried out, in which some paintings on the walls of the presbytery were discovered. Only a strip above the sacristy door could be restored, as complete restoration requires a large financial investment and heritage consent, because the parish is a Cultural Interest Property (BIC),” concludes the Brotherhood.
